レモン

YOKOHAMA–The district court here Monday denied the children of a deceased journalist the chance to clear their father’s name in a case that is regarded as the most notorious instance of suppression of free speech in wartime Japan.

The court elected to bypass handing down a verdict on whether Yasuhito Ono was guilty of promoting communism and engaging in subversive activities during World War II, thus allowing his conviction under the Peace Preservation Law in 1945 to stand in what is known as the “Yokohama Incident.”

The Yokohama District Court, following a March 2008 ruling set by the Supreme Court in an earlier case, decided to dismiss the plea for a verdict that addresses the question of guilt or innocence.

Ono worked as an editorial member of Kaizo (Reform) magazine. He died in 1959.

Ono’s two children had requested the retrial. It was the fourth such request by former defendants convicted over the Yokohama Incident or their family members.

Presiding Judge Takaaki Oshima made clear he had no choice but to dismiss the case, citing provisions under the former Criminal Procedure Law, which stated that trials involving individuals convicted under laws no longer on the books and those granted amnesty should be dismissed.

The Peace Preservation Law was abolished in October 1945, after which Ono was granted an amnesty.

When the district court agreed to a retrial last October, Oshima cited evidence that would suggest a “not guilty” verdict was more appropriate.

For instance, the court noted that a 1942 meeting attended by political scientist Karoku Hosokawa, editors and others in Toyama Prefecture, which wartime police had labeled an occasion to discuss the resurrection of the Communist Party, was “nothing but a friendly meeting among editors.”

The court on Monday cited that finding again. It also noted that wartime special police used torture to make suspects confess their “crimes.”

“But for a legal obstacle, it would be possible to reach substantial judgment in a retrial right away,” Oshima said, apparently referring to the former Criminal Procedure Law.

But the court sidestepped the issue of guilt or innocence until family members take steps to request criminal compensation.

Ono’s son, Shinichi, 62, and daughter, Nobuko Saito, 59, said Monday they will not appeal the case but instead move to seek compensation from the state for their father’s ordeal.

“We wanted to hear the word ‘innocent’ from the court,” Shinichi Ono said at a news conference. フランチャイズ“We now realize the difficulty of trying to overturn a Supreme Court decision.”

Ono was arrested by a special unit of the Kanagawa prefectural police in May 1943 after proofreading an article written by Hosokawa for Kaizo magazine in 1942. Wartime authorities determined that the article enlightened the public on communism.

Ono was found guilty in September 1945フランチャイズ, a month after World War II ended.

Overall, more than 60 journalists and others were arrested on suspicion of violating the Peace Preservation Law between 1942 and 1945. Four of them died in prison as a result of being tortured during the investigation.(IHT/Asahi: March 31,2009)

２７日午前２時５分ごろ、埼玉県秩父市野坂２丁目のコンビニエンスストア「サンクス秩父野坂店」（鈴木哲弥さん経営）に拳銃を持った男が侵入し、１人で 店内にいたアルバイトの男性店員（３７）に金を要求した。男は店員ともみ合いになり、４発を発射。１発は店員の左足太ももを貫通、もう１発が男の右足首に 当たった。店員は拳銃を奪い取り、１１０番通報。店内で座り込んでいた男を、秩父署員が強盗殺人未遂容疑の現行犯で逮捕した。犯行時、客はいなかった。

同署によると、男は住所も職業も不明だが、「永田健一」「６０歳」と名乗っている。 募金同容疑者は「強盗しようと、オレがやった」「都内に住み、電車で来た」などとも供述しているという。拳銃は回転式で６発を装填（そうてん）できるものだった。

同署が店内の防犯ビデオなどを調べた結果、同容疑者は店員に「わかるな。金を出せ」と拳銃を見せて脅し、１発を床に向けて発射しようとしたが、これが不発だったため、オモチャの拳銃と思い込んだ店員が飛びかかっていた。

現場は西武鉄道秩父駅の近く。

Reflecting the economy’s rapid deterioration, land prices–both residential and commercial–fell nationwide last year, according to a survey released Monday.

Residential neighborhoods in Tokyo were especially hard hit, as were commercial areas of Nagoya, according to the survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Land prices rose in 2006 and 2007, but the Jan. 1 survey of about 28,000 locations painted a bleak picture for 2008.

There were only 23 locations where prices increased from the previous year, the lowest figure since land price surveys began 1970. In 2007, there were about 12,000 locations where prices increased.

Residential land prices fell an average 3.2 percent over the previous year. In 2007, residential land prices increased by 1.3 percent.

Likewise, commercial land prices decreased an average 4.7 percent, in contrast to the 3.8-percent increase in 2007.

The most expensive piece of real estate was once again in Tokyo’s Ginza district. The plot on which the main outlet of Yamano Music Co., a musical instrument retailer, sits decreased 2.1 percent and stood at 38.2 million yen per square meter.

Land prices in the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya fell at rates higher than the national average.

Residential land prices decreased 3.5 percent, while commercial land prices fell 5.4 percent in the three major metropolitan areas.

In Tokyo’s 23 wards, residential land prices fell by 8.3 percent.

Prices took a severe beating in Shibuya Ward. The Oyama district recorded the sharpest decrease of any residential land plot in Japan with a decline of 18.3 percent. Commercial land prices in Shibuya Ward also fell by 8.1 percent.

In 2007, there were many locations in Tokyo’s Minato Ward where land prices increased by more than 20 percent. However, in 2008, land prices at almost all locations in Minato Ward fell by 10 percent or more.

The Nagoya area was also hammered by the declining performance of the manufacturing sector, symbolized by the difficulties facing Toyota Motor Corp.

The Sakae 4-chome district in Nagoya’s Naka Ward had a plot that recorded a decline in value of 28.4 percent, サーバー管理the largest decreasing rate of any property in Japan, regardless of use.

Of the 10 commercial land plots with the largest decrease rates in price, nine were located in central Nagoya.

Commercial and residential land prices in Osaka also fell, after recording increases in 2007.

In other regions, residential land prices fell by 2.8 percent and commercial land prices dropped by 4.2 percent, marking the 17th straight year of declines. Moreover, the rate of decrease had expanded over 2007, in contrast to the previous four years.

Conversely, all 23 locations where land prices increased were outside the three major metropolitan areas.

Date in eastern Hokkaido accounted for four of the top 10 locations in terms of increases in residential land prices, in part due to an influx of retirees migrating from more urban centers.(IHT/Asahi: March 24,2009)

北朝鮮が発射を予告している「人工衛星」が日本に落下しそうな場合、迎撃が技術的に可能かどうかについて、中曽根外相は２４日の閣議後の記者会見で「難 しい」との認識を示した。政府筋も２３日、「当たらないと思う」と発言。政府は近く、弾道ミサイル破壊措置命令を発令する方針だが、足元からそもそもの技 術論で疑問が出た格好だ。

政府筋は「鉄砲をバーンと撃った時にこっちからも鉄砲でバーンと撃って（弾と弾が）当たるか。当たらないと思う。口開けて見ているしかない」との 見方を示した。「実験したときは成功したと言うが 募金、それは、『はいこれから撃ちますよ。はい、どーん』と撃ったやつだった。いきなりドーンと撃ってきた ら、なかなか当たらない」とも述べた。

中曽根氏は、この発言について感想を問われ、「難しいのは事実だ。やったことがない。どういう形でどういう風に飛んでくるのかわからない」と述べ た。一方、浜田防衛相は２４日の会見で「そのようには考えていない。今まで準備万端ということで万全になるように努力をしてきている」と反論した。

政府筋発言に対しては、２４日開かれた自民党国防関係３部会でも「発言が報道で流れること自体が極めてマイナスだ」「緊張感が足りない」と批判が相次いだ。中谷元・元防衛庁長官は「釈明なり事実の打ち消しなどを求めたい」と記者団に述べた。

迎撃を試みる場合、まずは日本海に展開したイージス艦から迎撃用の海上配備型迎撃ミサイル（ＳＭ３）を発射する想定。ただ、自衛隊はＳＭ３の迎撃実験を過去に２度実施し、うち１度は失敗している。